...what you say about Model Z containing Zero's soul (lack of a better word) is wrong.
Prairie:
A long time ago, the world of humans and machines was saved by a group of legends. Biometal are fragments containing the consciousness of those legendary heroes. There might be some hint regarding the Maverick outbreaks in the data stored at the lab. Fleuve's personal laboratory is right next to the Transerver room. Take the Biometal data there for analysis. I'll be here analyzing the computer chip that you brought back.
Prairie:
Yes, the soul of that man contained in a fragment of Ragnarok. That's Model W. Sis recognized its existance and set about to create something capable of fighting the threat. She used her research to create Biometal with the powers of legendary heroes from an age long ago.
Model P:
It is our destiny across the ages to protect the world of Man. Let us once again become humanity's blade for striking down evil. Model H: Hmph.
Those humans we fought so hard to protect hundreds of years ago have been lulled into a false sense of security by the empty promise of peace.
But I still believe our fight had meaning. So, young hero, yes I will lend you my strenght. Serpent has seperated my data into two halves. There is another Pseudoroid with the other part. If you can defeat it, I will be able to give you my password.
Model L: I am the Biometal of the Ice, Model L. Thank you for freeing me from that awful body. You're looking for the rest of the disk right? I'm sorry, but it has already been taken somewhere.
A hundred years have passed since the war, but it looks like some things will never change. Vent: A man named Serpent is attempting to reawaken Model W. To stop him, I need your help and the password.
Model L: Hmm... Model Z, I heard the story about Serpent. I know you were linked with a host body, but I heard he beat you in combat.
Model Z: Yes... My failure led to the death of a good man named Giro.
Model L: I see... Alright, I'll join you.
It should be an interesting challenge to take on the one who bested the great Model Z. I'll give you my password, but the data is split into two halves. The other Pseudoroid with my power has the remaining half. I won't be able to give you the complete password until you defeat him.
Then there's the additional statement in the ZX guide that Livemetals have Cyber Elf-like abilities.
One thing I want to bring up: It's Zero, and it's Capcom. Known for really bad ret-conning (seriously, Zero's ending in X6 makes his beginning in X7 impossible), they can come up with something.
Not a retcon, X6's Zero ending was never meant to take place directly after X6. In fact, if it did, it'd be in contradiction with X's ending. X7, X8 and XCM simply take place before Zero's X6 ending but after X's X6 ending.
Here's my theory on the whole subject: Zero lived through the re-entry,
I know, I'm just saying Zero didn't die IMMEDIATELY or DIRECTLY. More like, getting shot, and not dieing from the bullet piercing a vital organ but from blood-loss. At some point, the remaining Big 4 three croaked and Ciel made everyone happy little biometals.
You know, even if you can survive atmospheric re-entry, hitting the ground at terminal velocity will kill you.
As for the Big4.
Why were the Four Guardians excluded from Zero 4?
AIZU: A lot of people ask that question, but the reason is simply because they all died at the end of Zero 3, shielding Zero from the big explosion.
HONDA: But for some reason they still show up in the booklet for the soundtrack.
AIZU: That was just Nakayama being generous with his drawings. (laughs) In the booklet of the fourth Zero sountrack, there is an illustration of X standing on a tower with beams coming from the Four Guardians... I didn't ask Nakayama to draw it, though. He kind of already had it drawn. (laughs) Tell us, Nakayama! What point in the timeline is that image from?
NAKAYAMA: I'm not sure... when could it be?
AIZU: The timeframe and events of the illustration were a little fuzzy, so we just kind of threw it in there. (laughs)
At the beginning of RMZ2 he fought alone until he found Ceil again.
With ZERO1 to ZERO2, Zero was separated from the resistance because he landed in the desert after atmospheric re-entry with X's assistance (which still knocked him unconscious) and the Resistance was subsequently attacked by Neo Arcadia and forced to flee and establish a new base. As of ZERO4, he does not have that issue.
And I never said he was alive for the next 200 years...just that he survived Ragnarok.
Way to ruin Zero's epic finale.
Cyberspace was accessible because a rift was caused by the appearance of Omega. X in RMZ3 went to cyberspace because he was running outta power and "could not stay in this world any longer." The only soul (cyber elf) Ceil could possibly get her hands on was Zero's when and if his body was destroyed...
The doors to cyberspace exist to enter that realm yourself. As a scientist, you need not enter it, you simply need to acquire the data it holds. That is how Dr. Vile, a revival specialist, does it. He can acquire the data from cyberspace, reproduce that data to revive the Repliroid as a Cyber Elf before giving said Repliroid a new body. Ciel's areas of expertise is copying others and having an emphatic connection with Cyber Elves. She's not a revival specialist and only attained those abilities through her interaction with the Model V. She simply recovered the souls of the legendary heroes, that would have lived on as Cyber Elves until they had spent up all their energy, and put them inside of the Livemetal. All of the legendary heroes that became Livemetals have been previously set up to have died.